All events in Xanthi
Panigiria Near
In Xanthi the largest popular day of the year does not fall in summer but on Clean Monday, when the plain villages set out tables and dancing in the open air.
Nothing on right now
May - September
Panigiria run from May to September, and the season peaks at Dekapentavgoustos - the Dormition, on 15 August - when most villages hold their feast. Each programme is set close to its own saint's day, so the list fills late and empties out of season.
Panigiria in other cities
Can't find what you're after?
Browse by genre
Panigiria Near Xanthi
At Avdira the day has its own shape: a kite-flying competition, with the celebration accompanied by traditional music. In the villages of Galani, Olvio, Magana and Erasmio, Clean Monday is served literally - bean soup, hand-made pasta and wine - followed by dancing in the Thracian, Pontic and Sarakatsani styles. That triple make-up is not decorative: the prefecture is home to native Thracians, to refugees from Pontos and Asia Minor, and to Sarakatsani families, and each community brings its own repertoire to the same square.
The rest of the calendar follows the villages' saint's days, with a live band and tables in the square. The sound of Thrace has instruments of its own - the gaida and the kaval are heard beside the klarino, and in older rituals the zournas and daouli appear. Xanthi itself keeps its old town of tobacco warehouses and merchants' mansions, and its carnival is among the largest in the country, with parades and events that move the whole city. Up towards the Rodopi mountains the villages hold a more inward, local character of celebration.
Common questions
Where can I find panigiria near Xanthi?+
At Avdira and in the plain villages - Galani, Olvio, Magana, Erasmio - especially on Clean Monday, and in the Rodopi villages on their saint's days. See the current calendar on Mood.
What happens at Avdira on Clean Monday?+
A kite-flying competition with traditional music. In the surrounding villages bean soup is served with hand-made pasta and wine, followed by dancing in the Thracian, Pontic and Sarakatsani styles.